1. Field of the Invention
The construction of homes and other buildings from logs is an ancient art. In recent years the desire for log buildings, and especially log homes, has increased tremendously, especially in North America. Much of the increased interest in log home construction and ownership has resulted from the use of more modern fabricating and constructing techniques which provide a building with enhanced appearance, thermal characteristics, structural integrity, reduced maintenance and other factors which are expected by the home owner today.
2. The Log Building Art
In the earlier days of log building construction, round logs were employed usually notched near the corners to provide some structural integrity to the overall construction but leaving much to be desired with respect to ease of fabrication, thermal integrity, the level of maintenance and the like. In general, such round log building construction has required very substantial chinking between the round logs to provide a continuous wall and a reasonable level of thermal and structural integrity. Such walls are often referred to as "chinked walls".
Historically, such log buildings have also been constructed with logs that had flattened sides and square notches to bring the flat sides of the logs closer together, reduce the amount of chinking required, enhance thermal characteristics and reduce maintenance. However, the accelerated interest in log buildings and in particular log homes, resulted from constructions which can generally be described as "chinkless". One early form of chinkless construction involved a scribing of one log of a wall to approximately match the contour of the log below it. This scribed log construction brought the logs together. When the logs were milled or otherwise shaped to fit together more intimately, minimum chinking or only caulking could be employed. As interest developed, especially in North America, various configurations developed which were structurally more secure and thermally better isolated. Such interfaces have included flattened top and bottom surfaces of the logs for broader and more intimate contact therebetween, as well as one or more tongues in one of the log faces to cooperate with and intermesh with corresponding grooves in the relatively flat face of an adjacent log. Many of these tongue and groove configurations are known in the art, but all have shortcomings with respect to ease of manufacture, intimacy of the log to log fit, thermal characteristics, tolerance for the dimensional instability of wood, the level of required maintenance, and the like.